Tesla Motors didn't announce the self-driving car that some had expected, but did roll out an exotic suite of driver-aid and safety features Thursday night.

CEO Elon Musk said additional features over time, combined with the ones announced Thursday, could serve almost like auto-pilot on an airplane.

But he gave no timeline for that.

Tesla also said at a big briefing event here that it'll have a hopped-up version of its Model S that has all-wheel drive and blasts to 60 mph in little more than 3 seconds.

Musk said in an interview with USA TODAY that his favorite car is the super-fast McLaren, a hihig-dollar, low-volume production car with racing attributes. Musk thinks the quickest Tesla will match the McLaren's 3.2-second sprint to 60 mph from standstill.

Tesla's moves are closely watched by its shareholders, who seem to bid up stock prices wildly, then sell, so the Tesla shares rocket, then tumble, more like technology stocks than auto-company stocks. And the electric-carmaker's moves often are considered a foretaste of what mainstream automakers might need to emulate to stay abreast of the latest technology.

Tesla announced Thursday that the all-wheel-drive versions of its Model S electric car will manage a slight increase in range of about 10 miles on a charge vs. the rear-drive models — for a maximum of 275 miles — because of efficiencies designed into the new system.

The AWD cars have a second electric motor to drive the front wheels. AWD hybrids, such as the Lexus RX, likewise use separate electric motors front and rear to elminate the need for a front-to-rear driveshaft and other cumbersome AWD hardware.

Musk, though, called his system "a huge improvement" that he claims is "taking the technology to the next level."

The AWD cars will carry the designation D, and the new top version of the AWD Model S will be designated P85D. Buyers begin receiving those in December.

The other AWD models, 60D and 85D, arrive in buyers' hands in February.

The addition of all-wheel drive will allow Tesla to compete more vigorously in the snowy East and Midwest, broadening is buyer base beyond the Sunbelt....

Tesla Motors didn't announce the self-driving car that some had expected, but did roll out an exotic suite of driver-aid and safety features Thursday night.CEO Elon Musk said additional features over...